Comma Launches Tonight with Cody & Johnson

We're so excited about the launch of Comma, a new reading series organized by local writer Kirsten Rian. The series launches TONIGHT at Broadway Books at 7 pm. Please join us to hear local writers Robin Cody and Harold Johnson, two of our favorite writers, customers, and friends. Next month's Comma (Thursday, March, 17th) will feature Brian Doyle and Ger Killeen, two authors quite appropriate to read on St. Patrick's Day. Comma will continue on the third Thursday each month at the store.

The wonderful website Reading Local has a good description of tonight's events and the featured authors; check out their website to learn more about tonight's events and about all things literary in the Portland area.

February Events at Broadway Books

February events are now posted on our website. This month we are launching a new reading salon organized by Kirsten Rian, which debuts on February 17th. The reading series of local authors in different genres will be held at Broadway Books the third Thursday of each month. Kirsten has lined up some great authors!

Video Clip from Heidi Durrow Reading

Ok, I'm working backward on my backlog of event video clips. The clip from Heidi Durrow's reading on Tuesday is now up and running! You can find it here, and also on the Events page of our website (along with previous event video clips). More to come, I promise!

Wine, Food & BIG Fiction Sale!

The Irvington Farmers Market has something new up its sleeve: The first Wine Walk on Broadway!! And it's this Sunday, September 12, from 1 pm to 5 pm. Tickets are $16, which gives you a wine glass, taste tokens, and food. You can buy tickets at the participating merchants (see list below) in advance, or at the market on Sunday. On Sunday you turn your tickets in at the market to collect your glass and tokens.

Participating merchants (that's us) are paired with a northwest winery and a NE Broadway restaurant. Participants (that's you) get to wander from store to store, checking out what's there, sipping a little wine, and having a little nosh. We're thrilled to be matched up with Zerba Cellars from Milton Freewater, just outside of Walla Walla -- one of my favorite wineries! And for the crowning touch, our food will be provided by Petisco, one of our favorite restaurants on the block.

To celebrate our good fortune -- and thus yours -- we've decided to have a BIG SALE in conjunction with The Wine Walk. For this day only, all hardcover fiction is 25% off!!

What more could you ask for? Wine, food, and terrific books. Sunshine, you say? Perhaps, but no guarantees -- although I can assure you it's always sunny and warm in the store! Please come see us and sample all the delights! Besides the good wine and food, there are a ton of great new books recently published for you to delight in as well.

Here are the participating merchants who will be hosting wineries:

• Broadway Books (Zerba Cellars)
• Broadway Floral (Nehalem Bay Winery)
• Caffe D'Arte (Sass Winery)
• emily-jane (Mia Sonatina Cellars)
• Golden (Solena Estate)
• Kitchen Kaboodle (Anam Cara Cellars)
• The Lion & The Rose Victorian B&B Inn (Anne Amie Vineyards)
• McMenamins on Broadway (McMenamins Edgefield Winery)
• Oh Baby! Lingerie (Naked Winery) -- now why does that pairing not surprise me????
• Soho Boutique (hipCHICKSdoWINE)

Here's a link to the Irvington Farmers Market site. The market continues through November 7. Hope to see you on Sunday!!

The Summer Book Talk is On!

I'm a bit of a stubborn reader. NOT a reluctant reader, not that at all. But stubborn in that I don't particularly like having to read a specific book on a specific schedule. I like to read whatever I'm in the mood to read at any particular time. Perhaps it's a lack of self-discipline. I prefer to think of it as my Renaissance side, and my independent nature. But that's up for debate.

Because of that, my idea of the ideal book club is one in which the members gather periodically to rave about the best books they've read recently, or the ones that made them think, or made them cry, or made them shout "YES" out loud. It's made even more appealing if it involves yummy treats and possibly even adult beverages of some sort. If that meshes with your way of thinking, or if you're actually in a real book club because you're a real grown-up, have we got a treat for you!

On Tuesday, June 15th, at 7 pm, Broadway Books will be offering its annual Summer Book Talk, where we'll talk about good books to read and discuss, tell you about some new books coming out soon and what books are coming out in paperback,  give you some ideas to shake a reading group out of a rut, and take recommendations for good reads from attendees. We'll offer sips and snacks, and there will be prizes!! Does it get any better than that? I think not.

All are invited, but seating is limited, so you must register in advance by paying a $5 per person fee, which will be refunded toward any purchase you make during the evening. We plan on having a great deal of fun and sharing a lot of terrific ideas. Come join us!

Story Time with Kate!

We're excited to announce the launch of Kate's Story Time at Broadway Books, a weekly story time for children! Beginning at 10: 30 on Friday, April 2, staff member Kate Bennison will welcome children up to age ten to enjoy a story or two. We invite parents, grandparents, and anyone else who has a young friend to come to the store and settle in for a good read. If your child can sit quietly outside your lap, please feel free to browse our shelves while Kate is reading. And here's a little bonus: When you bring a child to Kate's Story Time, you can take 25% off any one children's book in the story while you're here. Watch the video to learn about the themes for each story hour, but of course we'll be starting with bunnies for this week's theme. We look forward to seeing you and your story-happy kids this Friday and subsequent Fridays!

John Daniel to read for Wild Wednesday

One of our favorite authors, John Daniel, will be reading next week at Roots Brewery in an event hosted by Oregon Wild. John's most recent book is The Far Corner: Northwestern Views on Land, Life, and Literature. He is also the author of Rogue River Journal and Looking After (or his "popoir" and "momoir," as he calls them) -- two of my all-time favorite books -- and other books of poetry and nonfiction.

John's books have won two Oregon Book Awards and one Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, and he is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He writes about the land,those who inhabit it, and our connections to place. John and his wife, Marilyn, live in the foothills of the Coast Range west of Eugene.

Following John's reading of selections from his books, Oregon Wild Old Growth Campaign Coordinator Chandra LeGue will discuss the recent introduction of old-growth protection legislation for eastern Oregon forests.

Oregon Wild Wednesday is a free quarterly event open to all ages. RSVP is not required, but you are encouraged to arrive early. Roots Organic Brewery is at 1520 SE 7th Avenue in Portland. You can read more about this event here.

Oregon Writers Colony Calendar Sale

Sadly, last week's calendar sale/fundraiser for the Oregon Writers Colony was postponed by the let's-catch-everyone-off-guard snow storm. Happily, the event will take place Saturday afternoon -- that's tomorrow! (barring another "snow event," as we like to call them in Portland) -- from 3 pm to 5 pm. You can click here to read the details. Suffice it to say there will be treats and photos of nearly naked writers, and all for a good cause! How can you miss it? Plus the opportunity to browse for books for yourself, now that the December holidays are behind us. Hope you can join us!

Oregon Writer's Colony Calendar Night!

Come join us tonight to celebrate The Oregon Writer's Colony and the 2010 Colonyhouse Calendar, in which Northwest writers bare their souls -- and perhaps a little more.... Proceeds from the calendar will benefit the Colonyhouse Accessibility and Development Campaign, a project to make the Colonyhouse, a log house in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, accessible to any member wishing to attend writing events or make use of the writing space.

Authors "showing their stuff" in this imaginative yet tastefully photographed calendar include Marc Acito, Sage Cohen, Peter Carlin, and Jennie Shortridge, and several more.

Tonight's event at Broadway Books will be co-hosted by Rae Richen and Bob Zimmer. Please join us between 5 and 7 pm to enjoy some refreshments, get included in a raffle for special signed collector's copies of the Calendar, and browse for books -- in case you didn't get the ones you were hoping for over holidays.

Thanks to all Holiday Book Talkers!

Holy cats! How much fun was that???? Last night was our third Book Talk, and I think it was the best one yet! The hardest part by far was narrowing down the selection of books we talked about; there are just so many amazing new books out this fall, which made it quite the challenge.

Heart-felt thanks to all who attended -- you made it so much fun. This time around we took a gift-giving focus when talking about new books. Who knew Roberta and I could talk about so many great books in such a short amount of time? Well, I'm guessing some of you suspected as much....There were several happy prize winners, and some people got a terrific head start on their holiday shopping. And everyone enjoyed Roberta's incredibly yummy gingerbread. Big thanks to Great Wine Buys, an independent neighborhood wine shop, for the loan of glasses and for directing us to some tasty wine. Our next Book Talk is planned for the spring, but we're considering offering another holiday focused one before the year is out. Anyone interested in that? Let us know what you think; we'd be happy to gear up for an encore! Thank you to Deb Hartman for the accompanying photograph of the happy book talkers in action. Seriously. I have no idea what I'm doing in this photo, but I'm clearly emphatic about something!